May We Live in Fleeting Times

On conviction scarcity and the risk of societal collapse

source: Photographer Malcolm Browne, via Wikimedia Commons (No Known Copyright) | Description: Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức’s self-immolation during the Buddhist crisis in Vietnam (1963)

On Earth Day (April 22) 2022, a significant incident occurred interrupting the usual corporate-driven eco-posturing that characterizes this day.

Climate activist Wynn Alan Bruce set himself on fire on the steps of the United States Supreme Court. While engulfed in flames, for a brief moment, Bruce sat upright in complete silence. He was on fire for 60 seconds until he was doused in water and airlifted to a hospital to be treated for his injuries. He died the next day. Four years prior, environmental activist David Buckel took his life in the same way in Brooklyn.

You likely haven’t heard of either of these incidents.

Both Buckel and Bruce committed the ultimate act of self-sacrifice to bring attention to the climate crisis — and both stories barely registered on the mainstream media’s radar.

The few outlets that did report Bruce’s self-immolation quickly caricaturized him as a mentally unstable recluse suffering from a lifelong brain injury. While it’s unclear to what degree his brain injury impacted him in the long-term, it was nonetheless used as a weapon to call into question the mental state of an otherwise complex, compassionate, and selfless man who was deeply troubled by the climate crisis…